Electric lighting fixture



Dec. l, 1942. A. F, PIEPER 2,303,758

.ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed June 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lli l M ATTORNEY.

De.1,1942. A. F. PIEPER I 2,303,758

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed June 5. 1941 -:e sheets-sheet 2 A o C al1 f 7g4 1NyENTOR.

.fansemgper ISS ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. l, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE 2,303,758 ELECTRIC LIGHTING FixtrURE Alphonse F. Pieper, Brighton, N. Y. Application June 5, 1941, Serial No. 396,750

3 Claims.

" This invention relates to an electric lighting fixture, with more particular reference to the type of construction illustrated in Patents Nos.

2,223,873 and 2,223,874, December 3, 1940, in`

In prior structures of this character, it has been proposed to locate controlling switches and reactors at the base of the standard or support, or at some point remote from the lamps, necessitating building the base, standard, and lighting fixture all as a unit, and it is a further purpose of the invention to afford a fixture including a housing that permits locating reactors or controlling switches interiorly thereof while the fluorescent lamps are mounted exteriorly of the same housing, thus affording a self-contained unit that is adapted for use with and may be attached to any conventional lamp standard or base and permit using fluorescent lighting in conjunction therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide a xture including a housing of Vpractical and efto provide an improved and eilicient means for .x5

securing the lamp supports to the housing so as to retain the lamps securely and rigidly in the desired angular relation and prevent possible slipping or turning of the lamp supports with reference to the housing.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following description when read in conjunction with being pointed out in the claims lfollowing the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a lighting fixture constructed in accordance with a preierred embodiment of the invention, with the conventional shade appearing in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken centrally of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view vtaken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 2 and looking ln the direction indicated;

Fig. 4 is a plan view, and

Fig-5 is a side elevation illustrating one of the lamp supports, and the bracket for securing it to the housing.

Referring lmore particularly to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the severalviews, l designates the post or standard of a conventional floor or table lamp, to which the present flxture may be attached, although it will be understood that the invention is not limitedin its possible uses to this specific application, but may be embodied as part of a complete lamp structure or attached to a ceiling xture if desired.

In the arrangement shown herein, there is employed a housing which includes means at one end, such as a threaded opening, for attachment to the threaded upper end of the post I or otherwise to a suitable support, and 2 is a preferably tapering portion surmounted by an enlarged lower portion 3 which may be ofv generally square cross-section, as illustrated in Fig. 3, to receive the electric controlling switch mechanism to be described presently.

4 designates the upper portion of the housing above the enlarged lower portion 3, saidupper portion 4 being somewhat reduced in size in comparison with the lower portion 3, and preferably of square cross-section, or of otherwise syll'lmet rical cross-section, to receive on each outer face a support for an Velongated lighting element or fluorescent lamp. 5 are vertically inclined portionsto which may be attached sockets 6 to receive ballast lamps l, while 8 designates the top of the housing provided with a threaded opening 'to receive the post 9 upon which is supported a conventional lamp shade Il).

The upper portion 4 of the housing, to the outer faces of which the lighting units are attached, is preferably of a proper width to receive fluorescent lamps of 1%" diameter arranged at an angle of 22 to the horizontal. This objective theaccompanying drawings, the novel features is attained in the present structure by making the upper portion of the housing 1H wide. and it is to be understood that the width of the housing at this point will vary in accordance with the angle at which thelamps are to be positioned, it being essential that the lamps be located symmetrically in intersecting vertical planes without interference. The housing is so proportioned that two lamps located on opposite sides in parallel vertical planes are inclined in opposite" directipns, and will clear the two lamps similarly positioned on the remaining two sides of the housing. All four lamps are symmetrically arranged around the housing, with their upper and lower ends in the same horizontal planes respectively.

Each lamp is mounted in a support including an elongated tube I2 of considerably less crossseetion or diameter than the lamps, so as to interpose a minimum obstruction to the dispersion of light, and each tube I2 has permanently attached thereto intermediate its ends a bracket, see Fig. 5, said bracket including end portions Il which are secured to the outer face of the upper portion 4 of the housing, as shown in Fig. 2, and disposed vertically thereon. The bracket also includes a central portion I5 which straddles the tube I2 and is rigidly secured thereto by soldering, Welding, or otherwise, and arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the bracket, so that when the bracket is attached to the outer surface of the housing, the tube I2 is xedly disposed at the desired angle on the housing.

I6 designate the fluorescent lamps or other elongated lighting units, each lamp being held between sockets I'l carried by the ends of the tube I2. There are preferably two lamps on opposite sides of the housing in parallel vertical planes and inclined in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 1, and the two similarly located lamps on the remaining two sides of the housing extend above and below the rst mentioned lamps respectively, and clear the same in a manner to attain maximum lighting elciency through dispersion of light both upwardly and downwardly. It will be understood that the conductors extend through the housing and thence through openings I8 in the housing into the tubes I2 from which the conductors lead to the lamp sockets I1.

There are preferably two ballast lamps 1, one of which is arranged in series with each two fluorescent lamps I6, the ballast lamps I being arranged between two opposite fluorescent lamps, and taking the place of the conventional reactors which are sometimes employed with fluorescent lamps. This makes it unnecessary to locate reactors within the housing, with the other electrical controlling mechanism now to be described, although, if preferred, it is within the province of the invention to mount reactors within the housing instead of using the ballast lamps 1, in which case the lower portion of the housing may be suitably formed to receive the several reactors 'in a convenient and compact manner.

In the structure shown, I9 designates the main switch controlling all the lamps, and arranged within the enlarged lower portion 3 of the housing are the automatic starting switches, one for each fluorescent lamp, and designated at 2l. These starting switches are of conventional form and removably secured within sockets 22 which are mounted on the inner surfaces of the cover plates 23, secured to the outer surfaces of the housing, which latter is provided with openings 2l through which the sockets 22 are inserted. The plates 23 are provided with openings to permit insertion o'r removal of the automatic starting switches 2|.

It will be understood that-instead of the automatic starting switches such as referred to above, a standard manual starting switch, such as that known commercially as the "Jeiersn switch, may be employed for each pair of uorescent lamps. In that instance, the manual switches would be located in the housing in the same position as the automatic switches referred to above, and if the ballast lamps previously described are omitted and reactors substituted, such reactors may be conveniently located within the housing at any point beneath the upper portion to which the lamps are exteriorly attached. The switches are connected to the uorescent lamps and ballast lamps by means of conductors, not shown, since the wiring of these parts is conventional and forms no part of the invention.

With this construction, it is possible to select a particular table or floor lamp base and standard and easily attache the iluorescent lighting means thereto as a self-contained single unit, all the necessary parts being arranged within or supported by the housing which is mounted on the post or standard, thus affording a practical and efficient commercial application of fluorescent lighting to table and iloor lamps generally. The

invention also makes it possible to employ con' ventional shades in connection with such a lighting unit, the fluorescent lamps being disposed at such an angle and in such relation to the shade that the lamps are not visible from beneath the shade to a person occupying a conventional reading position near the lamp.

While the invention has been described with reference to the particular construction shown, it is not confined to the details disclosed, and this application is intended to cover such modiilcations or departures as may come within the purposes of the improvement or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a iluorescent lamp, a self-contained head unit that is removably attachable to a lamp stand and comprises a vertically arranged relatively short housing having means at its lower end for detachably securing it to the upper end of a lamp stand, a plurality of lamp supports each comprising an elongated tube of small cross-section secured at a point between its ends to said housing near the upper end of the latter, a pair ot oppositely disposed sockets carried at the ends of each tube, tubular fluorescent lamps located between said sockets parallel to said elongated tubes, the lamps and supporting tubes being arranged symmetrically at diierent points around the housing in uniformly inclined relationship and in intersecting vertical planes, the housing including an enlarged portion located shortly beneath the points of attachment of said supporting tubes, auxiliary starting apparatus for the lamps located within said enlarged portion of the housing, and a manual switch carried by the housing and controlling said auxiliary starting apparatus, the upper end of the housing being located beneath the upper ends of said'supporting tubes and lamps, the auxiliary starting apparatus being located approximately in horizontal alinement with the lower ends of the supporting tubes and lamps, and the lower end of the housing being located in close proximity beneath said enlarged portion.

2. In a uorescent lamp, a self-contained head unit that is removably attachable to a lamp stand and comprises a verticallyarranged relatively short housing having means at its lower end for detachably securing it to the upper end of a lamp stand, a plurality of lamp supports each comprising an elongated tube of small crosssection secured at a point between its ends to said housing near the upper end of the latter, a pair of oppositely disposed sockets carried at the ends of each tube, tubular fluorescent lamps located between said sockets parallel to said elongated tubes, the lamps and supporting tubes being arranged symmetrically at diierent points around the housing in uniformly inclined relationship and in intersecting vertical planes, said lamps comprising two pairs, the lamps of each pair being oppositely inclined and disposed on opposite sides of the housing in parallel vertical planes at right angles to the planes in which the other lamps are located, the housing including an enlarged portion located shortly beneath the points of attachment of said tubes, auxiliary starting apparatus for the lamps located within saidenlarged portion of the housing, and a manual switch carried by the housing and controlling said auxiliary starting apparatus, the upper end of the housing being located beneath the upper ends of said supporting tubes and lamps, the auxiliary starting apparatus being located approximately in horizontal alinement with the lower ends of the supporting tubes and lamps, and the lower end of the housing being located in close proximity beneath said enlarged portion.

3. In a uorescent lamp, a self-contained head imit that is removably attachable to a lamp stand detachablv securing it to the upper end of a lamp stand, a plurality of lamp supports each comprising an elongated tube of small cross-section secured at a point between its ends to said housing near the upper end of the latter, a pair of oppositely disposed sockets carried at the ends of each tube, tubular iluorescent lamps located between said sockets parallel to said elongated tubes, the lamps and supporting tubes being arranged symmetrically at diierent points around the housing in uniformly inclined relationship and in intersecting vertical planes, said lamps comprising two pairs, the lamps of each pair being oppositely inclined and disposed on opposite sides of the housing in parallel vertical planes at right angles to the planes in which the other lamps are located, a

. pair of ballast lamps mounted at the upper end of the housing and located in a vertical plane centrally of the housing, each of said ballast lamps extending laterally from the upper end of the housing between the iluorescent lamps of one of said pairs and overlying a iiuorescent lamp of the other of said pairs, the housing including an enlarged portion located shortly beneath the points of attachment of said tubes, auxiliary starting apparatus for the lamps located within said enlarged portion of the housing, and a manual switch carried by the housing and controlling said auxiliary starting apparatus, the upper end of the housing being located beneath the upper ends of said supporting tubes and lamps, the starting switches being located approximately in horizontal alinement with the lower ends of the supporting tubes and lamps, and the lower end of the housing being located in close proximity beneath said enlarged portion.

LPHQNSE F, 

